 Tagline: New York City has Become the Only Maximum Security Prison for the Entire Country. Once You go In, You don't Come Out... Until Today. A thrilling landmark film that jolts along at a breakneck pace, Escape From New York leapt to cult status with high-octane action, edge-of-your-seat suspense and a mind-blowing vision of lone warrior Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) battling his way out of a post-apocalyptic Manhattan! Hailed as "stylish and scary" (Los Angeles Times), "dark and dangerous" (Newsweek) and "gloriously...fun" (Tyler Morning Telegraph), this furiously entertaining thriller grabs you by the throat and won't let go! In a world ravaged by crime, the entire island of Manhattan has been converted into a walled prison where brutal prisoners roam. But when the US president (Donald Pleasence) crash-lands inside, only one man can bring him back: notorious outlaw and former Special Forces war hero Snake Plissken (Russell). But time is short. In 24 hours, an explosive device implanted in his neck will end Snake's mission - and his life - unless he succeeds! Storyline: In the future, crime is out of control and New York City is a maximum security prison. Grabbing a bargaining chip right out of the air, convicts bring down the President's plane in bad old Gotham. Gruff Snake Plissken, a one-eyed lone warrior new to prison life, is coerced into bringing the President, and his cargo, out of this land of undesirables. Written by Anthony Pereyra {hypersonic91@yahoo.com} Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Casey Broadwater on August 4, 2010 -- I remember, as a kid, thinking that the poster for Escape From New York was quite possibly the coolest thing I'd ever seen. You've got Kurt Russell, wearing a freaking eye patch and toting a massive assault rifle, squatting in the middle of a fire. You know, just taking it easy, popping a squat while the city burns around him. Non-plussed. Chillaxed. In the background, Lady Liberty's decapitated head lies in the middle of the street, her copper-green eyes staring vacantly up into a crowded, off-kilter skyline. What the hell happened, I wondered. I'd have to wait for Cloverfield to find out, because, as it turns out, that nifty piece of poster art—while summing up the film's nothing is sacred attitude and permanently establishing Kurt Russell as an icon of badassery—has no relation to the film's plot. When I finally managed to see the movie, I kept waiting for Lady Liberty's head to get blown off, but it never happened. I was a little disappointed. And in a way, that's still how I feel about Escape From New York. The premise is a near-perfect action movie set-up, and the world that John Carpenter creates has so much potential for edge-of- your-seat storytelling, but the end result doesn't fully deliver on its promise. But that's not to say that it doesn't have its moments of undiluted awesomeness. In 1988, we're told, the crime rate of the United States jumps by 400%. The country's formerly most expensive piece of real estate—Manhattan Island—is so overridden with violence that it's turned into a containment prison, walled off and blockaded on all sides by the U.S. Police Force. Inside, there are no guards, no chains, no cells, only "the prisoners and the worlds they have made," grim societies of miscreants and underground crazies, bedlamites, cannibals, and rapists. There's only one rule here, "once you go in, you don't come out." The one-time financial and cultural capital of the world is now a dystopian nightmare, hopeless and anarchic. As a storytelling "universe," the possibilities of this new New York are endless, but Carpenter only has time, in his 99-minute film, to give us a single plot, one that only begins to explore the seedy recesses of the prison city. Extremists hijack Air Force One, crashing it downtown in a scene that eerily foreshadows 9/11, and the president (Donald Pleasence)—who speaks, for some reason, with a slight English accent—is kidnapped by the self-proclaimed Duke of New York (Isaac Hayes), a ruffian who plans to trade the scared-witless leader for the release of all of the island's inhabitants. Police commissioner Bob Hauk, played by the always-dastardly Lee Van Cleef, offers a juicy deal to newly arrived prisoner "Snake" Plissken (Kurt Russell), a special forces soldier-turned-armed robber who just so happens to have the black-ops know-how to stage a rescue. If Snake can extract the president in 24 hours, he'll be granted a full pardon for his crimes; if he can't, an implant in his neck will explode and instantly sever his carotid artery. Ouch. With the countdown clock ticking ever closer to zero hour, Snake infiltrates the city and starts his hunt, teaming up with Brain (Harry Dean Stanton), the Duke's former right-hand man, Maggie (Adrienne Barbeau), Brain's bosomy piece of arm candy, and an avuncular cab driver (Ernest Borgnine) who knows the streets like the back of his grimy hand. Long proclaimed as an action film cult classic, there's surprisingly little action in Escape From New York, at least, not of the Michael Bay, in your face, two explosions per minute variety, the kind to which today's Rockstar-infused audiences are acclimated. Watching the film now, nearly thirty years after it hit theaters in 1981, EFNY seems curiously slow-paced. Snake limps through the city, occasionally bopping a guy in the face, occasionally busting a cap. For being on such a strict time limit, he does an awful lot of creeping. Several action set pieces seem poised to take place—crazies rising up from the sewers on a raiding party, a car ride through a gamut of clubs and thrown rocks, a trip across a mine-strewn bridge—but they fizzle out before they really get started. Carpenter has prided himself on being a master of suspense, a latter-day Hitchcock, and while that title can certainly apply to the slow-burning terror of Halloween or The Thing, Escape From New York never feels taut, mostly because we have no investment in the characters. Brain, Maggie, and the cabbie show up, advance the plot, and are dispensed with before we ever get to know them. Not even Snake's countdown clock can heighten the tension. The events that take place in the periphery—a musical parody put on by prisoners in a former opera hall, a molestation in a dingy basement, the lives of the underground dwellers—are much more interesting than Snake's plight or the story of the president's rescue. Basically, Carpenter created a world with endless storytelling potential, but ended up picking a tale that's, well, not bad by any means, but just, I dunno, okay. What Escape From New York has going for it, and what gives it its cult classic status, is atmosphere and attitude. Making the most of a relatively small $7 million budget, the production design team presents a post-apocalyptic vision of New York that's eerie and hellish, the kind of place where at any minute a crazed bum might pop out from under a manhole. Carpenter matches this dystopian vibe with political ax grinding. Through Snake, a smirking anti-hero right up there with The Man With No Name of Sergio Leone's Dollars trilogy, the film wears its cynicism about Reagan-era world leaders like an honor badge, proudly casting doubts about how free Americans really are. The point-making seems perhaps too obvious today, and Carpenter's choice of a MacGuffin—a cassette tape loaded with nuclear secrets—is never entirely believable, but there's something totally punk rock about Escape From New York's anti-authoritarian stance as personified in a sneering, cocksure Kurt Russell. Once a child actor and Disney movie nice guy, Russell finally reveals his inner badass here, an onscreen persona that would come to define his career. The other actors in the film are all great—Carpenter did assemble a damn fine ensemble cast—but Russell is the reason to watch. For years there have been rumors about an Escape From New York remake, but I'd hate to be the guy tasked with stepping into Kurt Russell's ass-kicking shoes. There's only one Snake Plissken. MGM's Blu-ray release of Escape From New York is full of pros and cons. The image looks vastly more natural than the SD-upconvert of the U.K. edition, but the picture is still somewhat murky and definition isn't as fine as you might imagine. The lossless audio track sounds great, but there are no special features on the disc at all. Still, I can't help but feel that this is the best home video version of the film we're going to get—in this current technological generation, anyhow—and if fans can live without the bonus material, I see no glaring reasons for them to shun this release. Cast Notes: Kurt Russell (Snake Plissken), Lee Van Cleef (Hauk), Ernest Borgnine (Cabbie), Donald Pleasence (President), Isaac Hayes (The Duke), Season Hubley (Girl in Chock Full O'Nuts), Harry Dean Stanton (Brain), Adrienne Barbeau (Maggie), Tom Atkins (Rehme), Charles Cyphers (Secretary of State), Joe Unger (Taylor [scenes deleted]), Frank Doubleday (Romero), John Strobel (Cronenberg), John Cothran Jr. (Gypsy #1), Garrett Bergfeld (Gypsy #2). User Comment: grendelkhan from Xanadu, 17 December 2003 • Snake Plissken is the classic anti-hero, ala Clint Eastwood's Man-with-no-name. Plissken is an ex-soldier turned criminal, recruited/blackmailed into rescuing a hostage president from the prison of New York City. Plissken is a walking ball of anger and a survival machine. He fought for his country but had everything taken from him, so he started taking back. Now, he has to rescue a man he doesn't care about, if only to survive long enough to take his revenge on Hauk and the government. John Carpenter's film is a masterpiece of dark humor, suspense, and great characters. The film channels the anger and distrust of the post-Vietnam/Watergate era, as well as the then-current Iranian Hostage crisis. Plissken represents, in a fashion, the Vietnam vets who did their job, even if they didn't agree with or understand their war, but came back to nothing. The film's novelization explores these themes better than the movie, but it is hinted at in Hauk's briefing. It also depicts a fascist police state, one that some would say is not too far from reality. Kurt Russell is excellent in what was a breakout performance for him. Up to this point, Russell had been stuck in low budget comedies, following the end of his Disney days. This performance, coupled with another collaboration with Carpenter, Elvis, led to bigger and better roles. Russell channels Clint Eastwood to give Snake a menacing, if laconic quality. Much like a real serpent, Snake watches and strikes when he is ready; with speed and impact. Russell is able to say a lot with little dialogue, through his body language and facial expressions. The supporting cast is wonderful. Adrienne Barbeau is the beautiful, but deadly Maggie. She is partnered with the intelligent, but slimy Brain. Their's is a symbiotic relationship; each provides something the other needs. Harry Dean Stanton, a great character actor, presents a Brain that is smart, but ruthless, and more than a bit cowardly. Isaac Hayes is The Duke, ruler of the prison. Hayes is a bit uneven, as he wasn't an experienced actor (he had at least one movie before this) but he is a charismatic performer and ultra-cool. Donald Pleasance is the consummate politician, a big man in his controlled environment, but lost in a world outside his; one he had a hand in creating. Ernest Borgnine is tremendous as Cabby, the answer man and link between Snake and the rest of the cast, as well as to the past of New York. Finally, Lee Van Cleef brings some of that Angel Eyes magic as Hauk, the prison Warden. Hauk is an ex-soldier and identifies with Snake. The difference is, Snake rebelled against the system that betrayed him; Hauk joined it. This was Van Cleef's last good role, before he was saddled with mediocrity in his tv series, the Master, and became the butt of jokes on MST3K [Mystery Science Theater 3000]. The film moves at a brisk pace and the dark lighting carries the sense of mystery, isolation, and destruction. Carpenter is able to convincingly hide the fact that he shot this film in St. Louis and LA, and make you believe it is New York. Although there are gaps in logic and missing information, the pace doesn't let you dwell on it. There is a constant feeling of the race against time. If there is any complaint, it's that the budget sometimes holds back some of the action, but characterization makes up for it. Also, the dark lighting is sometimes too dark, and details are obscured. Summary: Classic anti-hero. IMDb Rating (06/16/11): 7.1/10 from 38,446 users
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